Matthew 25:1-13 / "The Oil of Readiness" / The Sunday of the Fulfillment (A) / November 24, 2002

Today is the Last Sunday of the Church year, called the Sunday of the Fulfillment. We focus our attention on the return of Christ, the Day of Judgement, the new heaven and new earth and the fulfillment of everything God has promised us. The major theme is: Be ready for Christ's return!

When I was a student I used to have nightmares about coming to class only to find out that a big exam was scheduled that I had forgotten all about. An exam I was totally unprepared for. Fortunately I don't recall this ever happening to me for a major exam. But I know that if it did happen, the temptation would be to try to cover your lack of preparedness by trying to get answers from your classmates. But we know that kind of "sharing" is called cheating, something very inappropriate.

In our Gospel lesson Jesus gives us a picture of a wedding about to happen. 10 virgins are waiting for the bridegroom to come. Five have prepared themselves with extra oil for their lamps while the other five have no extra oil. When the bridegroom finally arrives and the wedding procession is about to begin, the five foolish virgins realize with great embarrassment that they don't have enough oil. They ask for some from those who have extra oil but they receive none and must go buy oil and, tragically, end up missing the wedding party.

In order to understand the full impact of this parable, allow me to paint for you a picture of what a marriage was like in Palestine 2000 years ago: A Jewish marriage had four stages to it. The first was the engagement which took place while the couple were still children. The parents made the decisions about marriage partners often years in advance. The next stage was the betrothal. Once the children reached marriageable age, somewhere between age 12 and 18, a betrothal document was composed and signed. It included the exchange of gifts and dowries between families. The document was so binding that it could be broken only by divorce or death. However, there was no intimate relationship until after the wedding.

The next stage was the wedding ceremony. This would normally happen a year after the betrothal. The reason for the big delay was that the groom must prepare a place for himself and his bride to live. Normally, this would involve adding on a room to his Father's house. I have seen this when I visited an Arab family 15 years ago in Israel. The Father had built his house on a ravine upon a concrete slab extending out towards the ravine and supported by pillars in the back. At that time his son was just beginning to build walls between the pillars of the lower level, creating a living space for himself and his bride-to-be below his father's house. Incidentally, I believe this is how we should understand Jesus' words: "In my father's house are many rooms; … I am going there to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2). Here Jesus assures us that he will return to fetch us as a groom comes to pick up his bride for the wedding feast once the living quarters are ready.

Then the groom, dressed up like a prince, would gather his attendants at night and lead them to the bride's house. The bride would be waiting fully prepared in all her splendour because she did not know the exact time of the groom's arrival. The groom's surprise arrival was part of the excitement of the wedding event. Not only would she be fully dressed for the occasion, she would have her ears open longing to hear someone say, "The bridegroom is coming!" Then she would go out, passing through the streets of the city at night with lamps and torches accompanied by bridesmaids and singers and dancers. The neighbours would line the path, shouting and cheering as the wedding party passed. Finally, the ceremony would take place and the celebration continue with feasting that would last between one to two weeks. Some big fat wedding!

What this parable communicates is heaven's perspective on "wisdom:" It is wise to be ready for Christ when he returns. For he is the groom. His bride is the church. The Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians: "I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him." The grooms' coming depicts the coming of our Lord Jesus and the ten virgins depict those who are expecting Jesus to come. Someday in the future the groom will come for his bride, and he will escort her in procession to the great wedding feast in heaven. In the book of Revelation we are told: "Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb" (Rev. 19:9).

The meaning of this parable is clear thus far: the groom is coming for his bride! Jesus is coming! More than 300 Bible verses in the New Testament alone refer to Jesus coming. During his earthly ministry, Jesus said: "For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels…" (Matt. 16:27), and: "So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him" (Matt. 24:44). However, although there is no doubt that he is coming, we do not know when. In our parable, Jesus says: "The groom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep" (Matt. 24:5).

"He was a long time in coming." In our Epistle lesson, Peter warns us that "…in the last days scoffers will come… They will say, 'Where is this coming he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.'" (2 Peter 3:4). Why is Jesus taking so long in coming? There is a reason for this delay. In the ancient marriage custom I described above, it would often take a year between the signing of the marriage contract and the consummation of the marriage. This time is a time of preparation. Christ is preparing a place for us. A place which is so beautifully described in our Old Testament lesson: "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth" (Isaiah 65:17). It will be so wonderful that our present earth will no longer be remembered. No longer will the sound of weeping or crying be heard in that place. Hostility and death will cease to exist. Even as we find it difficult to imagine such a place, once we set foot in it, we will no longer want to go back to the past. We will be like a toddler who for a while is very attached to a certain toy. But eventually that toy is put aside and forgotten as he grows older and finds other more attractive toys.

In our epistle reading, Peter gives us another reason why Christ is long in coming: "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (3:9). Jesus is even more specific when he says: "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matt. 24:14). Do you want to know when the end of the world will come? This is about as close of an answer that we can find in the Bible. For as I am speaking, in this age of mass instant communication, the gospel of the kingdom is reaching the remotest corners of the world. People have often looked to wars, natural disasters, important world events and leaders for clues to the end. But I think here we have a more accurate and specific "sign." The sign of gospel of the kingdom going out to the nations. Now, of course, Jesus did not tell us to what extent the gospel will reach each nation before he comes, or even that he would come immediately once this has occurred, but I believe that the conditions for his return are just about ready. Are you ready?

This brings us to the final aspect of this parable. How do we get ready? While the groom is preparing the place, the bride is preparing herself for the wedding. You can imagine the wedding dress prepared and tried on, the bridal party organized and the wedding invitations sent out. In a way, this also describes how we get ready for Christ when he comes to fetch us. The wedding dress is the holiness and righteousness we received from our Lord in our Baptism, when our sinful nature was nailed to the cross and when we received the Holy Spirit, his seal of ownership. Practically, Baptism is like the betrothal and signing of the wedding documents. Legally we are married to Christ. Now we are just waiting for him to return. But as we wait, we also send out the invitation to all our friends and relatives, to join us when our Lord comes to bring us home. We want them to be there as well.

I believe it is primarily for this reason that Jesus is long in coming. It is not because he is having a hard time finding or preparing a place for us. It is because he is patient with us, even as we diddle away our time with unimportant things. He is waiting for us to get our act together and get our invitations out so that we will not be ashamed on that great day when our friends point an accusing finger at us, saying, "You knew about this all along. Why did you not invite us?" You see, Jesus does not want the greatest day of your life to be ruined by "If I had only…'s". He is allowing us time to get ready.

Jesus also gives us everything we need to be ready. In our parable it does not mention wedding clothes, but instead it mentions oil for the lamps. In the Bible, oil is often used symbolically for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps us prepare for the coming of Christ. We received the Spirit in our Baptism, when our sins were washed away and when he took up residence in us. He makes us holy and perfect, ready for Christ. He also helps keep us that way. This is the difficult part. That is because our faith in Christ is easily shaken by circumstances. Paul writes in deep concern to the Corinthian believers: "I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ" (2 Cor. 11:2,3). You see, the Holy Spirit has quite a job in keeping our eyes focused on the goal. Jesus describes his activity saying, "When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment" (John 14:8). The Holy Spirit shows us where we have gone wrong; he shows us where to find righteousness; he shows the final outcome and how to be ready for it. So, for example, when we read the Scriptures he helps us understand them and to believe the promises of God; when we pray, he assures us that God hears us and will answer us.

Now, you may wonder, 'What about the five foolish virgins? Who are they?' This is a bit of a puzzle, because apparently they too were waiting for the groom to come, and they too had oil in their lamps. But it just wasn't enough for the journey when the groom arrived. Perhaps they too had received the Holy Spirit in Baptism. But perhaps they did not rely on the Holy Spirit and thus were not ready when Christ came. That is why we need to remain in Christ through regular contact with his word and sacrament. The Holy Spirit uses these means of God's grace to build our faith so we are prepared for his coming and that we will not be caught without sufficient oil in our lamps. Let us then submit to the Spirit's work in our life, allowing the word of God to show us our shortcomings, be willing to confess our sins and believe that these are indeed forgiven by Christ as he promises. Then I can assure you that you have truly come to the right source for the oil of readiness that you will need when Christ shall come. Even if he comes at a time when you do not expect him, you will be ready to join him in that great procession to the heavenly wedding banquet, to the new earth that God has prepared for you. May the God of all peace now guard your hearts and minds in true faith in Christ Jesus our Lord that you may be ready to join him on the Day of the Fulfillment. Amen.